LoveYourBigMuddy Financial Supporters

Yep, paddle through to the Gulf. It just makes sense. August 21, 2013

Dear supporters: I am grateful for your financial support. So many thoughtful contributions. I am equally grateful for all of the love and assistance freely and generously given to me on my way down the river, from Montana to the Gulf of Mexico. SO MANY KIND HEARTS and encouragement to succeed. All of you are what made this expedition one in a million! The warmest of thanks, Janet

This is OUR expedition!

Thank you all from the bottom of my heart. Seriously. YOU made this happen!

Donations made on this site’s “Donation Opportunities” Page are charged 2.9% + $o.30 by PayPal.

If you contributed financially and you cannot find your name on this page, please email me at janet[dot]ann[dot]moreland[at]gmail[dot]com

I will be handling the tier-level rewards in the near future. Thank you for your patience.

1. STL Arch – $10.00

Nick Orazio (Columbia, MO)

Alex Patterson (Rufus, MO)

Scott Peterson (Columbia, MO)

2. Confluence – $20.00

J.w. Lewis (Columbia, MO)

Beth & Cory Silver – ($40) (San Francisco, CA)

Michael Stacy – ($25) (Columbia, MO)

Stephen Kuhl (Omaha, NE)

Alice Raven (St. Louis, MO)

Suzanne Cooper – ($40) (Columbia, MO)

Curt Rohlfing ($25) (Columbia, MO)

George Kracke (Columbia, MO)

Tom Fry ($25) (Sacramento, CA)

Martin Wills ($25) (Columbia, MO)

Ruthie Moccia ($30) (Columbia, MO)

Jim Sullens ($40) (Healdsburg, CA)

Marty Pliske ($45) (Columbia, MO)

Scot Heidbrink & Dyan Pursell (Columbia, MO)

Jen Rachow ($30) (Columbia, MO)

Elaine Mestrezat ($40) (Sarasota, FL)

Marshall Reichert (Sioux Falls, SD)

Tammy Brewer ($25) (Columbia, MO)

Lucia Hulston ($25) (Kansas City, MO)

Kyra Hollis ($25) (Wichita, KS)

Anne Muntean (Ogden Dunes, IN)

Kathryn Besio (Hilo, HI)

Ron McElroy ($25) (Bloomfield, NE)

Meredith Ludwig ($40) (Lupus, MO)

Istu Lopez and his moms ($30) (Columbia, MO)

Jo Mason ($25) (Rock Island, IL)

Laurie Bruno ($30) (Franklin, TN)

Susan Alexander ($25) (Columbia, MO)

James Crawford ($30) (Raytown, MO)

3. Cooper’s Landing – $50.00

Ric & Karen McCann ($80) (Nevada City, CA)

Mick Reed (Knoxville, TN)

Maryellen Self – (Alvaton, KY)

Heidi Branaugh ($75) (Columbia, MO)

Lucia Hulston (Kansas City, KS)

Anonymous (I know, right?!)

Susan Palazzo (Carmichael, CA)

Ginger Masters (Columbia, MO)

John and Chris Marston (Columbia, MO)

Diana Tucker Dexter (Columbia, MO)

Carol Ford ($60) (Friday Harbor, WA)

John Wallin ($75) (Durango)

Lynne Hooper (Wilton, MO)

Barbara Giles ($90) (Columbia, MO)

Sam Stuhlman (Woodstock, GA)

Melanie Cheney (Columbia, MO)

Phil Reid ($60) (Basehor, KS)

Mark Dierking (Palm Harbor, FL (Atchison, KS))

Randall Moore (Puunene, HI)

Shelly Edwards (Helena, MT)

Finley Building & Development (Columbia, MO)

Kenneth Simon (Cumberland, RI)

Mark Meehan (Louisville, KY)

Cal King Services (Auxvasse, MO)

Cooper Editorial & Scientific Consulting (Columbia, MO)

Doug Elley (Lupus, MO)

Judy Day (Cordova, TN)

Hogan Haake ($55.46) (Ogden Dunes, IN)

Judi Klosterman (Becker, MN)

Janice Kitzler (Vermillion, SD)

Meg Poche (Columbia, MO)

Jim David Bradshaw (Columbia, MO)

Ron Penny ($80) (Columbia, MO)

Dave Hiner (Atchison, KS)

Bill & Anne Diehl ($60) (Simi Valley, CA)

Louise Sloan (Columbia, MO)

Joan Read ($75) (Boonville, MO)

Marylee Giese (Canby, MN)

Susan Schneider (Belleville, IL)

Michael Wood (Columbia, MO)

Terry McBurney ($70) (Houston, TX)

Amber Bradshaw (Columbia, MO)

Norm Miller (Livingston, MT)

Colleen Smart (Springfield, NE)

4. The Lakes – $100.00

Kevin Wehner & Susan Schabilion – ($101) (Columbia, MO)

Roger and Barbara Giles (Columbia, MO)

Jeffery and Linda Schuyler (Columbia, MO)

Lee and Melissa Nigh – (Columbia, MO)

Anonymous – (Columbia, MO)

Mark Bright (Santa Barbara, CA)

Steve Schnarr ($170) (Columbia, MO)

Charlotte Overby (Durango, CO)

Thomas Hittle (Poncho Springs, CO)

Ron Lukenbill (Helena, MT)

Deb Miller (Fayette, MO)

Carol Rogers (Columbia, MO)

Denise Goforth (Peoria, IL)

Cheryl Dillard (Kansas City, MO)

Julia Fisher (Columbia, MO)

Boda Klenke (Kansas City, MO)

Terry Showers (Fulton, MO)

Gina Graves (Columbia, MO)

Julie Osnes (Pierre, SD)

Whitney Hovenic (Aliso Viejo, CA)

Dave Hiner (Atchison, KS)

Debra Harding (Columbia, MO)

Mary Kay Bringham (Chico, CA)

Mark Frazier (Kansas City, MO)

Jim and Bonnie Lawler (Columbia, MO)

Dinise Mustain (Columbia, MO)

Patrick Harrington ($150) (Lansing, MI)

Wallis Bianchi (Kalispell, MT)

5. White Cliffs – $200.00

Anonymous – (Columbia, MO)

Anne Elizabeth Ruhr – (Columbia, MO)

Stuart Maas (Bellevue, NE)

Diane Stewart (San Francisco, CA)

John Brady (Columbia, MO)

Toni Bray (Portola Valley, CA)

Wendy Crosby (Stilwell, KS)

Jonathan Lauten – (Jefferson City, MO)

Ann Elliot (Moberly, MO)

Brian Waldrop ($211) (Arnold, MO)

6. Three Forks – $300.00

Scott Mansker on behalf of MR340 Paddlers ($340) (K.C.)

Richard Simpson (Columbia, MO)

Bernie Arnold (Arnold, MO)

Mark Dierking ($400) (ex-Atchison, KS) (Palm Harbor, FL)

Sydney McClard ($420) (Columbia, MO)

7. Hell Roaring Creek – $500.00

Bruce Barkelew (Columbia, MO)

8. Brower’s Spring – $1,000.00

Donations from the LoveYourBigMuddy Blues Benefit

Thank you all for a memorable evening that is forever seared into my mind. Special thanks to the Columbia, MO, blues musicians, Heidi Branaugh, Steve Schnarr and Melanie Cheney, Roger Giles, and every single person who contributed to the event. I have no specific names for those in attendance. I do know we all had a fabulously fun time. Thank you again. Means the world to me.

LoveYourBigMuddy Expedition

My name is Janet Moreland. I am a Missouri River paddler from Columbia, MO, most often found at or near Cooper's Landing, Rivermile 170.

I graduated from the University of Missouri in December 2012 with a degree in Education, and am now certified to teach middle school social studies and/or science.

In December, 2013, I completed a 3,800-mile source-to-sea solo kayak expedition from the Missouri River source at Brower's Spring, Montana, to the Gulf of Mexico. On April 24, 2013, I skied into the source at 9,000 ft. in the Centennial Mountains, and arrived via South Pass at the Gulf of Mexico on December 5, 2013. My mission included elements of empowerment, education, and environmental stewardship.

In 2016 I successfully completed a solo kayak expedition from the Mississippi River source at Lake Itasca, MN, down to the Gulf of Mexico. And, in 2017 I solo journeyed the entire Yukon River from the Llewellyn Glacier on Atlin Lake, British Columbia, to the Bering Sea at Emmonak, AK.

It is believed that I am the first person ever to successfully solo kayak, from source to sea, the three longest rivers on the North American continent.

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Status Updates

The journey is not over until the mission bears fruit:
Empowerment ~ Education ~ Environment

I reached the Gulf of Mexico on December 5, 2013.

Thanks to everyone for their heartfelt support. This was OUR expedition, and for that I am grateful.

Here is a synopsis:
I completed the challenging yet successful ski into
Brower’s Spring with Norm Miller on April 24-25.

I completed three days of incredible
bike riding 100 miles from Hell Roaring Canyon
To Clark Canyon Dam.

I paddled down the Beaverhead River from Clark Canyon Dam to Twin Bridges, where the river worked me hard and I suffered two holes in my boat and a sprained wrist by the second day.

From Twin Bridges, the Beaverhead River turns into the Jefferson River, which is deeper and wider, and one of the more beautiful stretches of this journey. This leg of the journey is neatly tucked under my belt.

I arrived in Three Forks, the headwaters of the Missouri River, on Saturday, May 11, approximately 300 miles downstream from the ultimate source, Brower’s Spring.

I spent the next four months paddling down the Missouri River, stopping at my home base, Cooper’s Landing, on September 16.

My birthday on September 28 marked my arrival in St. Charles, and I paddled through the confluence of the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers the next day, September 29.

Proceeding down the Mississippi River, I arrived in Memphis, TN, on October 17. Here, I took an extended break of two weeks because of a speaking engagement I flew out to in Bend, OR, at the Conservation Lands Foundation ‘Friends Rendezvous.’

November 1 found me on my way again down the Mississippi River until December 5 when I reached the Gulf of Mexico.

Oh, what a trip it was!

Then, I couldn’t leave the upper Mississippi untouched, so I paddled the whole thing in 2016, Lake Itasca to the Gulf.

Might as well make it a Triple Crown, so I paddled the Yukon River, source to sea, Llewellyn Glacier, B.C., to Emmonak, AK, at the Bering Sea in 2017!

Do what you love and love what you do.

I now want to start writing my book about paddling the Missouri-Mississppi, LoveYourBigMuddy Expedition. Stay tuned.